Enlarging printer



March 10, 1936. R HopKms 2,033,712

ENLARGING PRINTER Filed Nov. 2, 1934 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 alch 1936, F2. 5. HOPKINS;-

ENLARGING PRINTER Filed Nov. 2, 193 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 [in no 1 Joe:

Filed Nov. 2, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 4- Swen-Tom:

2% JWMMI March 10, 1936. R, mg, 2033 712 ENLARGING PRINTER Filed Nov. 2, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 9 77 31 95 ggi March 10, 1936. R. s. HOPKINS 2,033,712

ENLARGING PRINTER Filed Nov. 2, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Mar. 10, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE nnmnomc ram'raa Application November 2, 1934, Serial No. 151,165

19 Claims.

This invention relates to photography, and more particularly to a machine by which prints can be rapidly made.

One object of my invention is to provide a ma- 5 chine of the class described in which projection or enlarged prints can be made from a relatively small negative. Another object of my invention is to provide a printing machine in which negatives can be used in strip form and in which a 10 means is provided for rapidly locating the negative with respect to the printing paper. Another object of my invention is to provide a machine in which the printing paper need only be handled once during the printing operation. Another oh- 5 ject of my invention is to provide a printing machine in which the platen automatically moves printing paper from its printing position. An-

other object of my invention is to provide a printing machine in which means is provided 20 for masking the prints by moving the negative. Another object of my invention is to provide a machine in which negatives in strip form may be held flat and may be readily adjusted for printing. Still another object of my invention is to provide a machine in which the printing light can be quickly operated, and other objects will appear from the following specification, the novel features being particularly pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

Coming now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts throughout:

Fig. 1 is a front plan view of a printing machine constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of my invention.

5 Fig. 2 is a. section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1

showing in elevation the top of the printing machine table.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through the negative holding and adjusting mechanism, being taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section through the printing machine shown in Fig. 1 taken on line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section through the illuminating system and lamphouse, being taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged top plan view of the upper part of the printing machine showing the printing panel, platen, and platen operating mech-- anism.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1, showing the lamp control and the shutter used in conjunction with the lamp control.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the switch operating mechanism in a different position from that shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view showing the platen in a raised position and the focusing plate in a focusing position.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9, but with the parts in a reversed position.

This invention comprises broadly a machine especially designed to take care of making enlarged prints from relatively small negatives, the 10 negatives being held flat in strip form by a special type of negative holder. This negative holder can be moved rapidly through a light beam so that an image carried by a negative can be projected upon a focusing plate which enables an operator to view the image and properly position it with respect to the printing panel. Thus, the machine resembles both a printing and an enlarging machine.

Referring to Fig. 1, wherein a preferred embodiment of my invention is shown, the printer may be conveniently'built into the form of a table having a top I supported by a plurality of legs 2 which may be braced together, as indicated at 3. The table top I, as best shown in Fig. 2, preferably carries a support 4 which may have a base and which may have upstanding flanges 5. These members carry an upper table top 6 which supports a plate 1 having a cut-out opening 8, which will be referred to as the printing panel and which is to define the size of the prints to be made.

Referring particularly to Fig. 6, the printing panel 8 is a large openingformed in the plate 1, there being spaced from the large opening a series of smaller openings 9. The purpose of these openings is to permit hinged paper engaging hooks Hi to pass through the openings when the platen is lowered to hold the paper fiat for exposure. This is best illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10.

In Fig. 9 the platen H, which is shown in an inoperative or raised position, is carried by the parallel arms i2 pivoted at l3 and i3 to the upper table top 6. These arms are extended at it to support on the pivots IS the focusing or locating plate i 6, which will be more fully described hereinafter. With this construction it is obvious that the platen and the focusing plate will be moved together in parallel relation and in opposite directions with respect to the printing panel 8.

The platen H is provided with four brackets i! to which the hooks H) are pivoted at l8, these hooks being encircled by springs I 9, as shown in Fig. 6, tending to hold the hooks with the ends 55 lying beneath the pad 20 on the bottom of the platen ll which is adapted to press a sheet of paper fiat for exposure.

As also shown in Fig. 9, two of the hooks l0 pivoted to the rear edge of the platen H are provided with elongated arms 2| adapted to contact with the stops 22 carried by the bracket 23. Thus, when the platen is moved to its inoperative position, shown in Fig. 9, the two rear hooks ID will be swung in the direction shown by the arrow against the pressure of the springs I 9 to release the rear edge of a sheet of paper P so that the paper will drop, and by hitting the inclined slide 24 will pass downwardly between the side flanges 25 of a chute 26, best shown in Fig, 1. This chute leads either to a developing'tray or to a container for the exposed sheets of paper.

When the platen is moved from its inoperative position, shown in Fig. 9, to its operative position, shown in Fig. 10, the hooks it! pass through the small openings 9 in the plate 1, snapping onto a sheet of paper P which may be laid over the opening 8. After an exposure has been made and the platen returns to its Fig. 9 position, the four hooks carry with them the sheet of paper suspended beneath the platen until the rear hooks are released by arms 28 striking the stops 22.

In small negatives, if the exposures should be out apart, the films are diflicult to handle and to properly position for printing. Consequently, I provide a negative holding carriage, best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, which will take the entire strip of negatives without cutting them apart. As

' indicated in Fig. 3, the negative holder may conlight beam can be adjusted by turning a knurled sist of an elongated frame 21 in which two glass plates 28 and 29 are mounted. Plate 28 is fixedly mounted in the frame 2'! and plate 29 is carried by a pair of hinge elements 38 which are pivoted at 3i to the elongated frame 21. Plate 29 may be held in a closed position by means of a latch 32. A strip of negatives F is laid between the plates 28 and 23 so that the individual exposures are all held flat.

The elongated frame 21 is provided with aseries of rollers 33 mounted on shafts 34 so that the carriage can run freelyback and forth over the table top I. The carriage has serrated side edges 35, as indicated in Fig. 1, so that it can be readily moved and controlled by an operator. The path of movement of the carriage 21 is defined by a guide rail 36. Referring to Fig. 2, this guide rail is provided with an aperture 3'! adapted to engage either pin 38 or pin 38 carried by the table top. At the opposite end of the guide rail 36 the rail is guided by a cam 40 or by a cam 4| also carried by the table top, thesecams being mounted on a post which can be turned or rotated by means of a handle 42.

When the negative holder is positioned as shown in Fig. 2, the operator merely presses in upon the knurled edge 35 to roll the carrier or its rollers 33 across the table top to guide the various negative areas across the light beam which is defined by the opening 43 which is formed in a circular plate 44 in the table top I. If the operator should find that the negatives are not properly positioned, the angle of the negative holder relative to the head 42 so that a cam, such as 40, may contact with the rail36 and cause the rail to turn about its pivot 38, thus varying the frame line. With the holder as positioned in Fig. 2, the negatives should have the exposure areas run longitudinally of the film. However, if the greatest length of the individual exposures run cross-wise of the film, the rail 36 should be removed from the position shown in Fig. 2 and the aperture 31 should be placed over the pin 39 so that the rail will run substantially at right angles to its position in this figure.- If the rail is so changed, the end of the rail will rest on the cam 45, but in either case the negative holder can be positioned by turning the knurled knobs 42.

In order to determine the position of the negative with respect to the printing panel 8, the focusing plate is used. When the platen israised, as shown in Fig. 9, the focusing plate 16 lies over the printing area. This plate is preferably painted or coated with a white or bluish-white coating which will reflect an image formed upon it by means of the objective 45, as shown in Fig. 4. This image can be viewed by an operator by looking at the mirror 46, which is arranged at a slight angle to the focusing plate to facilitate viewing. Thus, if the operator sees that the image is not properly centered by this reflected image, he can manually adjust the negative carrier to properly frame the picture. Usually, it will be only necessary to adjust the position of rail 36 once to frame all of the picture areas carried by the film holder 21. This operation can be accomplished very quickly, and after the film has been once properly framed, successive exposures can be made rapidly by causing the negative holder to move one frame at a time as the carriage rolls across the table top, guided by the rail 36.

The light beam, through which the negative holder passes, is provided by'the optical system shown in Fig. 5, wherein a lamp 48 is carried in a socket 49, there being an enclosure 50 with a suitable opening 5| to permit air .to enter and to pass up around the lamp in the directionv shown by the arrows up through the chimney 52 I 54. If desired, a ground or opal glass, or other, light diffusing medium 55 may be inserted in the slideway 56 provided in the lamphouse, designated broadly as 51. A mirror 58 is mounted on a spring carriage 59, one end of which engages a pin 50 and the other end of which may be adjusted by a screw 6|. This is purely a factory adjustment and after once being set, need not be further altered.

Above the mirror 58 is a second set of condenser lenses 62 which project a beam of lightthrough the masking opening 43 in the circular plate 44.

The lamphousing 51 as a whole can be readily removed by releasing the wing nuts 63 and 64 which pass through slots 65 and 66 in the upper wall 61 of the lamphouse. I have found it convenient to mount on abracket 68 a paper box 69 having a removable toplfl, since this brings the paper close to the printing panel 8. In order to position this paper, I provide a series of paper a sheet may be positioned by a guide 13, and while I have shown the guides H and I3 fixedly guides, some fixed and others movable, as will mounted on the plate 1, these can be readily made adjustable if it should be desirable to do so.

The plates II and 13 constitute the fixed guides and the movable guides consist of a pair of arms H which extend upwardly through the small apertures 9 from the focusing plate. These arms are best shown in Fig. 9 wherein they extend up parallel to the plate 13 and spaced from this plate. With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 9,

,7 an operator removes a sheet of paper from the and giving room for the platen pressing surface 20 to press the paper P flat over the printing panel. Thus, the focusing plate not only assists an operator in properly adjusting the negative to a printing position, but at the same time carries one of the sets of paper guides.

The platen operating mechanism will next be described. The platen II, as above explained, is pivotally attached to the arms I2 of bell-crank levers, having opposite arms l4 carrying the focusing panel H5. The shaft l3, to which one set of bell-crank levers I2 and I4 are attached, extends through a suitable bearing I5 into an L- shaped opening 16 in the upper table top 5, as best shown in Fig. 6. There is a crank TI carried by the shaft 53 and this crank carries a stud 78 on which a link i9 is pivoted at the rear end, this link being pivoted at 80 to a handle 8| which is attached at 82 to a pivot carried by the support 83. As best shown in Figs. 6 and 8, when the handle is moved in the direction shown by the arrow, about its pivot 82, the link I9 and the crank 57 will be turned and the platen will be moved from the position shown in Fig. 9 to that shown in Fig. 10. A spring 84 tends to return the platen to its inoperative position as soon as the handle BI is released, although the tension on this spring is adjusted so that very little pres sure is required upon the handle 8! to cause the platen to function.

The handle 8! is arranged so that a surface 85 of the handle lies in the path of a knob 89. as best shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The handle BI is moved until the platen is completely lowered. in which position the handle will be approaching the knob 86. Further movement of the handle causes this knob to be depressed so that the rod 91 which passes through an aperature 88 in a support 89 will rock the lever 99 upon .its shaft 91. Shaft 9| also carries a shutter 92 so that when the rod 81 is moved in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 7, the shutter 92 quickly swings up out of the path of the light beam which passes through the objective 45. The timing of the movement of these parts is such that the lamp is turned on as the platen reaches the print ing panel and the shutter is opened slightly after this time. Consequently, when the handle 8| is raised, the shutter 92 swings across the light beam and the lamp 48 is turned off in the order named.

The switch for the lamp is shown in Fig. 7 as being a mercury switch 93 carried by a support 94 pivoted at 95 and having a curved end 96. This end is adapted to be engaged by a cam 91 carried by the shaft IS. The curvature of the part 95 is such that the first part of movement of cam 97 quickly tilts the mercury switch 93 from, its open position in Fig. 7 to its closed position in Fig. 8, in which position contact is made through wires 98 and 99. Further movement of the cam 91 merely causes this part to ride idly over the curved surface 98 holding the switch in its closed position. Thus, the light beam can only pass through the objective 45 when the platen is pressing the paper flat for exposure. The shutter 92 permits the light beam to pass through the objective, and since the lamp is turned on before the shutter operates, it can reach its full brilliance before the exposure is started.

There is a second way of operating the shutter 92 which is necessary because in order to position the negative, the lamp 48 must be turned on and the shutter 92 must pass the light beam through the objective 45. This is accomplished in the following manner. Referring to Fig. 4, there is a push-button M0 on the end of a rod IIJI, this rod impinging upon a lug I02, best shown in Fig. 7. Thus, when the push-button is pressed in the direction shown by the arrow, the shaft 9! is rocked, this manually rocking the shutter 92.

As the lever turns on its pivot 9|, a rod I03 will be moved upwardly or in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 7, and since this rod is pivoted at I04 to the switch carrier 94, the switch is turned to the position shown in Fig. 8. This movement, of course, does not affect the location of the platen, since it is entirely independent of it. It is merely used for momentarily permitting a beam of light to pass through the objective 45 for positioning a negative.

The platen It carries a stamp Hi5 which may carry any desirable data, such as numbers to be printed on the back of a print, and this stamp is pivotally attached at idii to a bracket or carrier I0! which, in turn, is attached to the platen proper by means of adjustable screws Hi8. A link I 09 is attached to the stamp by a pivot ill) and the other end of the link i H is pivoted to a bell-crank lever i2. Thus, when the platen is moved by the handle 85, the numbering stamp is turned from the position shown in Fig. 7, in which the type H2 contacts with an inking pad H3, to a position in which the legend is printed on a sheet of paper, the type turning until it passes through the opening ill in the platen. The inking pad H3 may be carried by a bracket 23 attached by screws M8 to the upper table top 6.

The operation of my printing machine may be briefly described as follows: A strip of negatives may be placed in the negative carrier 27 and the rail 38 may be adjusted on the pin 38 and cam 49 or the pin 39 and the cam 49 according to the direction of the exposure frames relative to the film. If the exposures run longitudinally of the film, the pin 38 and cam 49 may be used, if transversely of the film, the pin 39 and cam 4| may be used. In either case, the machine needs only to be set once for each type of film. The negativecarrier is then brought into contact with the rail 36 with the first exposure area lying approximately over the light beam passing upwardly through the opening 43 of the masking plate 44. With the platen H in a raised position and with the focusing screen it in an operative position, in which it will reflect the image of the negative upon the mirror 46, an operator glances in the mirror to see whether the picture frame is correct-that is, to see whether the image will come totally within the opening 8, this being shown by the corresponding size of the focusing surface 86. If it does not, the position of the negative holder 36 may be altered by turning the knurled head 42.

A piece of paper may be taken from the paper pm Hi and dropped on the printing panel between the guides H, H, 53, and 14. This will properly position the paper, and the operator then presses on handle 8i and lowers the platen. This movement removes the movable paper guides 14 from the small apertures 9 and permits the surface 20 to press a sheet of paper P fiat over the opening 8. As the handle 8| descends to bring the platen into contact with the paper, the switch 93 is rocked upon its pivot 95, making contact between the wires 98 and 99 and igniting the lamp d8. As the lamp 48 reaches its full brilliance, the shutter 92 rapidly swings out of the light beam and permits an exposure to be made.

As soon as the handle 8! starts to raise, the shutter 93 rapidly cuts off the light and later turns off the lamp. This action occurs with great rapidity.

The operator next positions the next negative for exposure and to do this he depresses the push-button I98 and again watches the image of the frame in mirror 86. Thus, one exposure after another can be rapidly made, and when all of the exposures on a single negative have been made, the carriage 21 is opened and the negative removed.

This machine has been found particularly useful in making enlarged prints from the small negatives used in many of the modern miniature size cameras. Thus, relatively large prints can be rapidly made from small negatives at a cost of labor not exceeding that of ordinary contact prints.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a support, of a printing frame carried thereby, bell crank levers pivoted to the support near the printing panel, one arm of each bell crank lever pivotally supporting a platen, the other arm of each bell crank lever pivotally supporting a focusing plate whereby movement of the bell crank levers upon their pivots simultaneously swing the platen and focusing plate to and from the printing panel.

2. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a support, of a printing panel carried thereby, bell crank levers pivoted to the support near the printing panel, and extending through said support with one arm of each lever positioned above and the other arm of each lever positioned below said support, one arm of each bell crank lever pivotally supporting a platen, the other arm of each bell crank lever pivotally supporting a focusing plate whereby movement of the bell crank levers upon their pivots simultaneously swing the platen and focusing plate to and .from the printing panel and on opposite sides thereof.

3. In a photographic printing machine the combination with a support, of a printing panel carried thereby, bell crank levers pivoted to the support near the printing panel, the bell crank levers having pairs of parallel arms forming sets, a platen pivotally attached to one set of parallel arms, afocusing screen attached to another set of parallel arms whereby the platen and focusing screen may be moved in parallel relation about the pivotal supports of the bell crank levers,

- simultaneously and in opposite directions with respect to said printing panel.

4. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel, of two elements mounted to move to and from opposite sides thereof including a platen and a focusing plate, means for moving the elements in opposite directions whereby one element may move to the printing panel as the other element moves away from it,\ said means including four pivotally mounted \bell-crank levers all pivotally attached to the base and having their ends all pivotally attached to the elements, the positioning of the pivots being such that each element may be moved on the parallel arms of the bell-crank levers to and from the printing panel, the parallel arms always holding the elements in parallel relation.

5. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel, of a platen mounted to move to and from the panel, a focusing plate mounted to move to and from the panel, connections between the platen and focusing plate for moving them at the same time and in opposite directions with respect to the printing panel, a shaft supporting at least a part of the connections between the platen and focusing plate and means for moving the shaft comprising a handle located near and operable in the same direction as the platen.

6. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel, of a platen mounted to move to and from the panel, a focusing plate mounted to move to and from the panel, connections between the platen and focusing plate for moving them at the same time and in opposite directions with respect to the printing panel, a shaft supporting at least a part of the connections between the platen and focusing plate and means for moving the shaft comprising a handle located near and operable in the same direction as the platen, and a spring normally holding the platen and handle in a raised position.

7. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel including a large printing aperture and a small aperture therein, of a platen mounted to move to and from said printing aperture, a focusing plate mounted to move to and from printing aperture, a stop carried by the focusing plate adapted to move through a small aperture when said focusing plate is moved towards the printing aperture and connections between the platen and focusing plate through which the latter with the stop is moved from the apertures as said platen is moved toward said apertures.

8. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel including a large printing aperture and a small aperture therein, of a platen mounted to move to and from said printing apertures, a focusing plate mounted to move to and from printing aperture, a pair of stops carried by the focusing plate and extending through said small apertures for loeating printing paper when said focusing plate is near the printing panel, connections between the platen and focusing plate for moving them in opposite directions with respect to said printing panel whereby said stops may be withdrawn from the printing panel before the platen contacts therewith.

9. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel including a large printing aperture and a small aperture therein, of a platen mounted to move to and from said printing apertures, a focusing plate mounted to move to and from printing aperture, the platen and focusing plate each being hingedly mounted on opposite sides of the printing panel, connections between the platen and focusing plates for moving them simultaneously in opposite directions with respect to said printing panel, means carried by the focusing plate for locating a sheet of printing paper on the printing panel, said means being adapted to extend through the apertured printing panel.

10. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel including a printing aperture and small apertures spaced from the printing panel, of a platen moveably mounted and adapted to cover and uncover the printing panel, hooks carried by the platen adapted to pass through the small apertures to engage a sheet of paper positioned on the printing panel and move said sheet with the platen.

11. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel including a printing aperture and small apertures spaced from the printing panel, of a platen moveably mounted and adapted to cover and uncover the printing panel, spring operated hooks carried by said platen having paper engaging portions pro- ,iecting below said platen and adapted to extend through said small apertures to engage a sheet of paper carried by the printing panel and hold it substantially parallel therewith.

12. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel including a printing aperture and small apertures spaced from the printing panel, of a platen moveably mounted and adapted to cover and uncover the printing panel, spring operated hooks carried by said platen having paper engaging portions projecting below said platen and adapted to extend through said small apertures to engage a sheet of paper carried by the printing panel and hold it substantially parallel therewith and means carried by the printer and lying in the path of some of said hooks to release said paper when the platen is moved to an inoperative position.

13. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel including a printing aperture and small apertures spaced from the printing panel, of a platen movably mounted and adapted to cover and uncover the printing panel, four pivotally mounted hooks extending downwardly from the corners of the platen, springs tending to move the hooks toward each other, the hooks being positioned to extend through the small apertures of the printing panel when the platen is lowered to an operative position there against, said hooks also being adapted to engage four edges of a sheet of paper laid on the printing panel so as to move it when the platen is moved from its operative position, a pair of releasing arms carried by the machine in position to contact with and release two of the hooks when the platen is moved to an inoperative position spaced from the platen to release the sheet of paper.

14. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel including a printing aperture and small apertures spaced from the printing panel, of a platen movably mounted and adapted to cover and uncover the printing panel, four pivotally mounted hooks extending downwardly from the corners of the platen, springs tending to move the hooks toward each other, the hooks being positioned to extend through the small apertures of the printing panel when the platen is lowered to an operative position there against, said hooks also being adapted to engage four edges of a sheet of paper laid on the printing panel so as to move it when the platen is moved from its operative position, a pair of releasing arms carried by the machine in position to contact with and release two of the hooks when the platen is moved to an inoperative position spaced Irom the platen to release the sheet of paper, and a chute carried by the machine to direct the paper released from the hooks.

15. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel including a printing aperture and smaller apertures spaced therefrom for receiving a sheet of printing paper, guide plates for locating three sides of the printing paper, a movably mounted guide for the fourth side of the sheet, said movable guide being adapted to project through a small aperture, a platen adapted to cover and uncover the printing aperture, connections between said movable guide and platen for moving the former with the latter but in an opposite direction, and paper engaging hooks carried by the platen and adapted to pass through the small apertures in the printing panel, whereby a sheet of paper located on the panel by the fixed and movable guides may be engaged and removed therefrom by means of the platen moving from its operative printing position.

16. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel including a printing aperture and smaller apertures spaced therefrom for receiving a sheet of printing paper, guide plates for locating three sides of the printing paper, a movably mounted guide for the fourth side of the sheet, said movable guide being adapted to project through a small aperture, a platen adapted to cover and uncover the printing apertures, connections between said movable guide and platen for moving the guide simultaneously with the movement of the platen whereby the guide may be moved from the aperture as the platen is moved toward the printing panel, means for supporting a sheet of paper beneath the platen, said means including hooks adapted to pass through the same apertures as the movable paper guide.

17. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel including a printing aperture and smaller apertures spaced therefrom for receiving a sheet of printing paper, guide plates for locating three sides of the printing paper, a movably mounted guide for the fourth side of the sheet, said movable guide being adapted to project through a small aperture, 2. platen adapted to cover and uncover the printing apertures, connections between said movable guide and platen for moving the guide simultaneously with the movement of the platen whereby the guide may be moved from the aperture as the platen is moved toward the printing panel, means for supporting asheet of paper beneath the platen, said means including hooks adapted to pass through the same apertures as the movable paper guide, said movable paper guide and paper engaging hooks being mounted to move to and from the platen from opposite sides thereof.

18. In a photographic printing machine, the combination with a printing panel including a printing aperture and smaller apertures spaced therefrom for receiving a sheet of printing paper, guide plates for locating three sides of the printing paper, a movably mounted guide for the fourth side of the sheet, said movable guide being adapted to project through a small aperture, a platen adapted to cover and uncover the printing apertures, connections between said movable guide and platen for moving the guide simultaneously with the movement of the platen whereby the guide may be moved from the aperture as the platen is moved toward the printing panel, means for supporting a sheet of paper beneath the platen, said means including hooks adapted to pass through the same apertures as the movable paper guide, said movable hooks being adapted to engage and position a sheet of paper before the platen comes to rest as it moves to an operative position upon the printing panel.

19. In a photographic printing machine,. the combination with a printing panel including a printing aperture and smaller apertures spaced therefrom for receiving a sheet of printing paper, guide plates for locating three sides of the'printing paper, a movably mounted guide for the platen contacts therewith.

fourth side of the sheet, said fixed and movable guides being adapted to locate a sheet over the printing aperture, a platen adapted to cover and uncover the printing aperture, a plurality of hooks depending from the platen at spaced positions, at least one of the hooks adapted to project through the same aperture as the movable guide, connections between the movable guide and platen for moving the former from the aperture as the latter approaches the aperture, and guiding surfaces on the hooks adapted to pass through the small 7 apertures to reposition a sheet of paper as the platen approaches the printing panel and to cause the hooks to engage the paper when the ROY S. HOPKINS. 

